Auburn Soccer Club Secures Sponsorships with AI Football Camera Technology

"You're seeing more of what you're paying for, essentially. It's not a sponsorship that's working on the back end. You see that you're like, okay, I see the technology. I see my overlay there. You know, I see my money working," says Aldin Zmajevac, Marketing Director at Auburn Soccer Club.

Zmajevac discovered that Veo's live streaming overlays provided sponsors with tangible visibility that traditional sponsorship packages couldn't match. The technology transformed how local businesses could connect with the community through youth sports.

This challenges the assumption that grassroots soccer clubs must rely solely on traditional sponsorship models to fund their operations.

Auburn Soccer Club's community-focused sponsorship approach

Aldin Zmajevac serves as Marketing Director at Auburn Soccer Club in Auburn, Alabama, while also coaching the 2013 girls and 2015 boys teams. His dual role combines business development with direct player coaching experience across multiple age groups.

Auburn Soccer Club operates with a mission to provide challenging and positive environments for all players, regardless of their financial background. The club strives to offer professional-level coaching and development opportunities to every child who wants to play.

This creates ongoing financial pressures as the club seeks to expand access while maintaining quality coaching and facilities without pricing out families who cannot afford high fees.

The challenge of funding grassroots football development

Before implementing innovative sponsorship strategies, Auburn Soccer Club struggled with the traditional funding model that placed financial burden directly on families. "One of the biggest things is sponsors and trying to figure out a way to bring money into the club to fund it," Zmajevac explains. "To be able to give our members the option to pay for their fees in a different way other than out of pocket."

Traditional sponsorship packages offered limited visibility to local businesses. "Unless you visit the website, you don't see your logo on there," Zmajevac notes about conventional sponsor recognition methods that failed to provide tangible value to community partners.

The club needed sustainable funding solutions that didn't increase membership costs. "This is especially for those that cannot possibly afford it," Zmajevac explains. "As a growing club, you're always needing more cameras. But the more cameras you add, the more expensive it is."

Without innovative funding approaches, the club faced the choice between limiting growth or raising fees that would exclude families from participation.

Veo Live overlays create win-win sponsorship solutions

Auburn Soccer Club developed a sponsorship package specifically around Veo's live streaming capabilities and overlay technology. "We've put together a package where we've sold an X amount of money that essentially covers the cost of the Veo camera and the subscription and all that stuff for the year," Zmajevac recalls.

Veo Live overlays provide sponsors with visible branding during every live-streamed match and training session. "They get their overlay there with the Veo Live. And it's obviously posted on every single one of those Veo lives that's going in," Zmajevac explains.

The approach eliminates equipment costs while expanding club capabilities. "If tomorrow we need to add 2 or 3 more cameras, if we're able to get 2 or 3 more sponsors, it's not an added cost to the club that eventually raises fees," Zmajevac notes. "Instead, everything stays the same. If not, it even lowers the fees."

Parents and players have embraced the technology enthusiastically. "Players obviously love to see themselves. Parents love to see the kids," Zmajevac explains. "People are asking, 'Hey, are we going to have the Veo this weekend? Are we going to have the Veo this weekend?' You know, so it's very, very positive."

The sponsorship model has grown from cold-calling businesses to receiving incoming interest. "You have people call you and like: 'Hey, I'm interested in sponsoring.' Versus before, it was a lot of cold calling," Zmajevac notes about the program's evolution over two to three years.

Ready to fund your club's growth through innovative partnerships?

Auburn Soccer Club's experience shows how technology can create sustainable funding models for grassroots football development. Want to explore sponsorship opportunities that benefit your community? Veo experts are standing by to help you get started.